Spring base for seats



NOV. 27, 1951 NQWELL 2,576,806

SPRING BASE FOR SEATS Filed June 27, 1949 HTTORNE).

Patented Nov. 27, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Application June 27, 1949, Serial No. 101,660

2 Claims.

This invention relates to a spring base for the seats of chairs, sofas, and other articles of furniture which, afford cushioned seating or reclining accommodations, particularly upholstered furniture;

One of the objects of this invention is to provide as a hardware unit for furniture of the character described; a preformed spring support or base which may be installed with appreciable saving in time, labor and costs as compared to spring seat arrangements heretofore employed, and, additionally will prove'superior to such previous spring arrangements in point of simplicity of construction, compactness, taking up less space, providing better ventilation, providing for an easier application of the upholstery to complete the seat, and increasingthe cushioning action and seating comfort.

Another object of this invention is to provide a spring base unit such as described in which a metal frame supporting a plurality. of bowed sinuous springs for immediate support of the seat upholstery, is in turn supported by special mounting springs permanently fixed to the frame and adapted to be fastened to the base frame of the chair, sofa or the like, whereby the seat is bodily yieldable as a unit on said mounting springs thereby increasing cushioning action and seating comfort.

Another object is to provide a spring base for seats wherein a novel adjustment of simple construction makes it possible to regulate the spring action of the base best to suit the particular chair, sofa or the like. I

With the foregoing objects in view, together with such other objects and advantages as may subsequently appear, the invention resides in the parts and in the combination, construction and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and claimed, and illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. l is a part sectional and part side elevational view showing a spring seat base embodying the present invention and as installed in an arm chair;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary horizontal sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. l, and

Fig, 3 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

In accordance with this invention I provide as a hardware unit for seats, a preformed spring seat base which generally includes an angle bar frame 4 here shown of rectilinear form, a plurality of sinuous and upwardly bowed springs 5 extending across and supported by the frame 4 and a pair of especially coiled springs 6 fixed to the frame as by being Welded thereto and which provide for yieldably supporting the unit in place for example on the base frame or structure l of a chair 8 as here shown.

The upwardly bowed sinuous springs 5 are of a well known type widely used in this art and are secured to the opposed. frame bars 4a by having their right angularly bent ends 9 extending through sleeve portions H! on U-shaped clips ll fitted onto said frame liars.

Each of the mounting springs 6 is made of a single piece of spring wire bent to form opposed coils I2, a straight length 53 of the wire joining the coils in substantially coplanar relation to the upper edges of said coils, and two like crossed end lengths Hi and [5' which extend forwardly and rearwardly from the coils and are adapted to be fastened to the chair frame 1.

The pper straight lengths B3 of the springs 6 are liked to the other opposed frame bars 4b at points approximately centrally of the ends of the latter as by being welded thereto as at l6 as shown Fig. 1, thereby permanently joining the sprin s 6 to the frame 4 with the crossed end l'ehg'ths l4 and I5 extended for being fastened to. the chair or other article of furniture to which the base unit hereof may be applied. These end lengths I4 and 15 have r ht angularly bent ends ll and 8. The ends I! of the lengths M are extended through clips l9 then into the ends of atubular connecting member 22 which lends desird'rigidity and maintains the proper assembly of the parts-associated therewith. The-ends l8 of the lengths [5 are extended through adiusting brackets 21 then into the ends of a tubular connecting member 29 corresponding to the tubular member 22. Each of the brackets 2! is provided with upstanding, opposed and slotted ears 23 between which a tubular bearing 23 is mounted. The ends I8 extend through the bearing 23' and are adjustable in the slots of said ears for the purpose to be hereinafter described. The clips [9 and brackets 2! provide for fastening the base unit to the chair or other article of furniture and as here shown the clips l9 are secured to the frame 1 of the chair 8 by means of suitable fastenings 24 whereas the brackets 2! are secured to the frame I by means of bolts 25 and nuts 26 as best shown in Fig. 3.

It should be noted that the frame 4, with the sinuous springs 5 and the mounting springs 6 fixed thereto constitutes a preformed base of ready and easy applicability to the furniture article in which it is to be installed and may if de- I 3 sired include in assembled relation to the springs 6, the clips l9, brackets 2| and the connecting tubes 20 and 22, thereby providing a more complete hardware unit.

In the use of the spring base unit as here shown in a chair, after it is installed, the chair upholstery designated at A in Fig. 1 and the webbing strips B are applied to the unit in any suitable manner or may be applied to the unit before its application to the chair. A detailed account of how the upholstering or the finishing operation of the seat for which the base hereof is used is thought to be unnecessary as it forms no part of the present invention except that the webbing pieces B at the front and rear of the seat act as snubbers to limit the upward movement and prevent pronounced or undesirable fore and aft rocking of the seat while permitting of bodily depression of the seat as a whole and the full cushioning action of the springs 5 and 6.

In this connection it is seen that the rear piece of webbing B is fastened as at 21 to the rear of the base frame F of the chair and as at 28 to the seat whereas the front piece of webbing B is fastened to the front of the seat and to a wooden strip 29 fixed to the frame 4 in any suitable manner. This webbingis extended downwardly from thestrip and fastened to the chair frame 1 as at 30. In practice the webbing B may be fastened so as to place the springs 5 and 6 under an initial compression and while it prevents undue rocking of the seat and limits upward movement it permits free bodily depression of the seat relative to the chair frame. However, the amount of slack in the webbing determines the limited rocking action of the seat.

-The action of the springs 6 may be varied by fasteningthe brackets 21 at different points on the frame I. As shown in the drawing the brackets are secured in place so that the ends l8 of the springs 6 are seated at the rear ends of the slots in the, ears 23 and maximum resistance of the springsfi is provided for. If the brackets 2| are fastened down so that the ends [8 are spaced outwardly from the rear ends of the slots in the i ears 23, the ends l8v will slide in the slots before the resistance of the springs 6 comes into play and thus thespring action of the springs '5 may be varied by changing the position of the brackets 2| as desired.

- It should be noted that in having the mounting springs 6 fixed intermediate their ends to the undersides of the opposed side bars of the frame 4 at points centrally of the ends of said bars and entirely below the frame 4 a most effective added cushioning action is afforded by said mounting springs and the installation of the unit is greatly facilitated by reason of the accessibility of the springs 6 and associated parts as a result of this arrangement.

While I have shown and described a specific embodiment of my invention I do not limit myself tothe exact details of construction set forth, and the invention embraces such changes, modifications and equivalents of the parts and their formation and arrangement as come within the purview of the appended claims.

7 I claim:

1. In a spring base for the seat of a chair, sofa or the like, a frame, a plurality of spring members fixed at their ends to and extending across the frame as a support for the upholstery to be applied to complete the seat, a pair of mounting springs fixed intermediate their ends to the frame and depending therefrom, and means affording the fastening of the ends of said mounting springs to the base structure of the chair, sofa or the like including brackets formed with opposed slotted ears in the slots of which certain ends of said mounting springs are slidable.

2. A hardware unit for a spring seat comprising a rectangular metal frame, a plurality of upwardly bowed and sinuous spring members fixed at the ends to certain opposed members of said frame, spring devices welded intermediate their ends' to the under sides of the other opposed members of the-frame at points approximately centrally of the ends of said other opposed members and depending therefrom with their ends extending in opposite directions, and means at said ends of said spring devices affording the fastening of said ends to the base structure of a chair, sofa or the like.

RICHARD A. NOWELL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

: UNITED STATES PATENTS 

